King of Sweets
by Lord of Judgement
Summary: Young Gaius and Wingul are going Trick or Treating. What can possibly go wrong?


**Pairings**: slight Gaius/Wingul.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Tales of Xillia _world, story or characters.

**Author's Note:** A response to a challenge on tumblr. Silliness. And little else.

* * *

**KING OF SWEETS**

Everything began in a very innocent manner.

Wingul flung open the door to his room and jubilantly announced, "I am going out tonight and you're coming with me, Gaius!"

"What makes you think I am going anywhere? I have to finish reading these," he gave a pile of thick dusty tomes on his desk a loud slap. "And early in the morning I have another meeting..."

"There won't be a meeting, they won't show up. They'll get drunk on cheap wine and not even buckets of icy cold water will wake them up on time."

"What's special about tonight? It seems to me a rather regular boring day."

"A regular boring day... Says you!" Wingul, shoving his leg forwards, placed his hands on his hips and proclaimed, "Trick or Treat! Give me something good to eat." Gaius continued to stare at his adviser's antics and Wingul (or Lin, did it matter?) waved his arm in exasperation. "Ah, I suppose you wouldn't know. It's a day when we remember the dead and commemorate Spirit Pluto whose cult was once popular in Ajur. With time, it became a tradition to hold a festival on this day, a month after the day when Efreeta passes into Ragnome, therefore..." He began pacing up and down the room, suddenly looking agitated. "On this day, children dress up in costumes and go from one house to another, asking for treats. It's a very common thing to do and so I thought... you should come with me since, you know, it's that kind of night when... when miracles come true." He finished speaking, staring at Gaius in breathless suspense.

Indeed, Wingul looked like a very excited child, but they weren't children anymore, they never were allowed to be and, with a deep frown, Gaius drooped his eyes. "You know I cannot go, but I hope you will enjoy the celebration."

"Somehow I am not surprised at all with your response, but I always wanted... and I couldn't sneak out of the castle when my father and uncles were still alive and then the war... I never had the time, but I finally will." His voice did not quaver. "Tonight."

"You shouldn't go alone," Gaius remarked, tapping a pencil on the desk – he needed to write a speech, but instead of words the pencil tip left small dots and dents on the paper. "You know how dangerous it is for you to leave your father's castle without guards. Don't tell me you have forgotten..." It was an ugly incident involving Lin and a few former members of Taurus that alerted him to the severity of the threat. "Take Nils with you."

"Nils is on a date with a girl from kitchens, he won't accompany me," fretfully echoed Wingul. "So it seems I will have to go by myself."

"I won't let you risk your life unnecessarily."

"It is my life I am risking and I have already prepared my costume. No one will recognize me if I wear it. Of course, you as my superior may forbid me to attend," he clearly appeared offended, "but I hope that there is a certain measure of trust between us and you'll defer to my judgment... in this matter."

"...Very well, I'll accompany you."

"What did you say?"

"I said I would accompany you." It was a small sacrifice when he had a chance to further improve his relationship with his young adviser and a small personal sacrifice, too – he enjoyed festivities and good food. "I changed my mind. But only on one condition: I cannot be recognized."

"That can be easily arranged! You can be a burnt corpse or a skeleton... " Wingul lit with joy up like a candle from a brief touch of flame and dragged him by the sleeve of his tunic somewhere into the maze of the castle hallways where his room was. Gaius didn't resist although insisted that he could walk on his own. "...Or a ghost." The youth proclaimed, shutting the door, and neither heard the scurry or noticed a lone figure in the darkness which hid behind a column. He promptly stripped his bed of sheets and threw one over Gaius's head. "It is going to be perfect... _Your Excellence_." He mimicked the way Olav used to address him.

Gaius chuckled under the thick and heavy shroud, "What is perfect? This? I am going to suffocate under it. Or stumble into something... I can barely see the light. Forget it, I am not going to make an exhibition of myself." He pulled the sheet off his face only to discover Wingul in front of him with a grin on his lips, with scissors in one hand and a paintbrush in the other.

"No, _Your Excellence_, I am going to cut out holes for your eyes and your mouth, but I'll also paint them so that you'll look spooky like some evil Summon Spirit. Then no one will refuse us a treat."

"And what costume will you wear? Let me guess... a bird?"

Wingul shrugged his shoulders, "You gave me that name and it's a fine name, but it doesn't mean I am going to obsess over it. No, it's perfect indeed. I am going to be an evil _magi_ and you'll be my summon spirit. All you have to do it stand there and look intimidating... and, truly, it's something that you don't even have to practice."

Gaius folded his arms with a look of doubt on his face, shifted his eyes from Wingul to the white sheet and murmured, "I don't know... this fancy of yours is rather silly."

But Wingul already anticipated such turn of events. Pressing the scissors to his lips as if to conceal a cunning smirk, he said – no, almost sung, "There will be sweets, lots of them."

**-o-**

Wingul would never admit that he asked Gaius to accompany him to battle his own fear. He always felt as though nothing could go wrong with Gaius at his side and therefore no amount of white lies he had to tell to achieve what he wanted seemed too large. His preparations were made with good intentions and for a good cause, too. They both needed a pleasant distraction especially now that their relationship was steadily improving.

Wingul no longer believed that Gaius was always stiff and distant and formal. His superior never ceased to surprise him, especially wearing a long white sheet over his body which trailed behind him as a wedding gown and on which he painted a rather menacing expression. Wingul couldn't boast to be a good painter. He spent an hour trying to draw a face which wouldn't look ludicrous, squandered three pairs of new sheets before he could say he was at the very least satisfied with the result and irritated the young commander whose patience, however, in all likelihood endured greater trials. And now it seemed to him that through the narrow slits Gaius's eyes were watching him incessantly and intently, which wasn't an unwelcome discovery in itself, but it rendered Wingul anxious. Anxious to succeed, perhaps.

What could possibly go wrong?

**-o-**

Everything began innocently.

It was snowing outside, huge white flakes were falling all around them, melting once they touched the ground, and the frozen droplets crunched underneath their feet as they walked. Wingul positively insisted that he carried a lantern which shed eerie green light – a tactic which proved itself effective once they knocked on the door of a house with a glowing carved pumpkin displayed behind the window and the doorway decorated with bright orange and green lights. Its owner was impressed with their preparations and Wingul's little performance as he sang the obligatory song, receiving a generous amount of candy and even a small chocolate cake. And so they moved from one door to another. Wingul wore an exotic black-and-white costume with a tall collar completed with a pointed hat and a staff, he would shove his foot forwards and haughtily lift his chin, somehow contriving not to look laughable (at least obviously ridiculously in Gaius's eyes), before he sang the same perky song:

"_Trick or Treat! Give me something good to eat.  
Give me candy. Give me cake.  
Give me something sweet to take!_"

Gaius stood in the shadow, without speaking a word even in gratitude as Wingul (or Lin, did it matter?) received gifts, observing another side of his people he failed to notice before or, during trials and tribulations, simply and humanly forgot. It was a good reminder of why he rose from nothing, of what he fought so hard to achieve. He heard laughter and under the white sheet smiled in return.

"Why are you silent?" Wingul asked him after receiving a bag of cookies from an old purblind woman who was very happy to find them standing by her door.

"It's nothing," he replied, waving an arm in which he held the green lantern. He almost dropped it then. "We're at war... not at the moment, but tomorrow we might as well be, and they still celebrate. I find it... commendable."

And neither noticed a shadow which followed them all the way from the castle.

Their misadventures began when a querulous old man glared at them and refused to give anything. "Run along, lads, I have nothing fer ya!" He grumbled and closed the door with a loud thud.

"How mean!" Exclaimed Wingul, setting down his presents, and a grimace distorted his powdered face. However, his voice rang with barely concealed excitement. "We'll teach him to have more holiday spirit!"

"He isn't worth the trouble."

"No, Gaius, it's tradition, we have to do something."

"What? Set his house on fire? It's not..."

"No, we aren't going to _set his house on fire. _We're going to do something fun... here, I am going to write _asshead_ on his window with black paint."

"Asshead?" Gaius was genuinely amused. "It's the first time I heard you swear, Wingul."

"And then I am going to add _esusan'ed_ in Londese... at least, transcribed from Londese correctly."

"I assume it means asshead."

"You make progress." Wingul procured the same paintbrush and, having melted an icicle with a fire arte, proceeded to carry out his threat. Even when he wrote profanities on glass, his handwriting had a certain finesse to it.

"Whaddaya think you're doing, rascals!" The owner of the house rushed out of the door, scandalized. "Ya won't ruin my house! Shoo!"

Wingul pulled the hat down over his eyes and hastily scribbled the rest of the letters. "And now we run. Or I could stay behind and let you escape..." But Gaius had figured out that part for himself and grabbed the youth by the sleeve of his fancy coat, dragging him into the darkness of boisterous streets filled with crowds of people dressed for a festive occasion. He felt young again, as if it was that time again when he would sneak out of the house with Karla and hide in his safe haven in the woods. His sister would love to be with them that night.

On the corner of the main street which led to the temple, they stopped and Wingul, having put the bag of candy down, seated himself onto the ground, laughing louder than on any other occasion on Gaius's memory. "Imagine he will wake up tomorrow and everyone who will come by his house will stop and stare and laugh... and he will wake up and wonder why everyone is laughing. Then he'll take a bucket of hot water and try to wash if off his window... what a sight! Maybe the next time children come to him, he will have a whole bag prepared. Speaking of which... I think I've received plenty of sweets so let's go back to the castle and share it..."

"Let's do a few more," objected Gaius from underneath the sheet; he did not want the evening to end so quickly. "I see a house over there... I lost my lantern, but confound it! A few more, then we can go..."

"I see you found a taste for it."

Everything happened too fast after that. There was movement in the darkness and the first thought that flashed in Gaius's mind was, '_Assassins_!' but then his eyes fell onto the snow where the candy bag had been and he yelled, "Thief!" The lone shadow broke into a run, Wingul threw a snowball at it but missed and together they followed hard on the culprit's heels. He tried to make sharp turns to escape, but Wingul withdrew from the chase to cut through somebody's yard and sprang out in front of the thief. Instead of trying to get past the youth (the culprit was visibly taller and stronger), he turned the corner and stopped by the wall which barred his way.

Gaius was seething with indignation. "Give back what belongs to us!" He delivered a blow to his face which wasn't hard enough to cripple the thief, only stun him and slow him down if he decided to run again. The latter, however, chose not to resist... until Wingul snatched the bag of candy out of his hands. Then he made a dart towards the street whence he came. Gaius tried to chase after him to remove his costume mask, but got tangled in the long sheet and by the time he angrily rid himself of the annoying object, the thief vanished without a trace.

"Leave him be," Wingul overtook him with the heavy bag.

"I want to catch him before he steals from children again."

"He won't."

"How do you know?"

"You scared him," evasively replied Wingul and refused to elaborate or admit he recognized the thief. "Forget about him, let's enjoy the candy. A kind soul gave me a small chocolate cake and I know how you love chocolate. Hm... try a piece, it melts in your mouth."

The night thief forgotten, Gaius spent a moment savoring the taste of their reward. "You are right about the cake."

"So you enjoyed our little adventure then... try this candy, too, it's a waffle in a chocolate coating with a fruity filling."

"It tastes like poranges."

"This one is a chocolate-coated strawberry..." Since Gaius's hands were full, Wingul unwrapped it in his stead and put it in his mouth, brushing his cold fingers against his lips. It was a strangely pleasant sensation, but the youth jerked his hand away too quickly for Gaius to dwell on the thought.

The candy had a bitter-sweet taste like the knowledge that they were probably growing too old to retain their youthful spirit of adventure for another year.

**-o-**

In the morning, Nils appeared in court with a black eye and Gaius suspected he was the night candy thief he never caught, but for the life of him he could not understand what prompted him to steal Wingul's treats.


End file.
